Available on Suite Professional plans and above

Zendesk Suite Professional, Enterprise, and Enterprise Plus plans come with a low-volume, self-service version of Sunshine Conversations , which lets you access the Sunshine Conversations API through Admin Center, without having to purchase a separate Sunshine Conversations license.
Note: If you are a Suite Professional, Enterprise, or Enterprise Plus user and previously purchased a Sunshine Conversations license, you can choose to access your account via the new Admin Center UI or the Sunshine Conversations dashboard. Your account and functionality will not be impacted.

This article includes the following sections:

  • Overview of Sunshine Conversations capabilities
  • The Sunshine Conversations workflow
  • Understanding channel integrations
  • Configuring conversational control (Sunshine Conversations custom bot users only)

For subscription and usage information, see About Sunshine Conversations platform access and support.

Overview of Sunshine Conversations capabilities

Sunshine Conversations lets you extend your messaging options by providing a unified API to manage and automate your conversations across multiple channels. You can integrate your Zendesk instance with another app or program, such as a custom bot or an external reporting tool, or an app that triggers a desired action.

Adding an external chatbot to your Zendesk setup is one of the more common usage scenarios. You can connect with customers through channels that are not currently available through Zendesk’s internal messaging channel and manage these channels through the AI agents page in Admin Center. Then your agents can respond to customers across all of these channels from a single interface, the Agent Workspace.

The Sunshine Conversations workflow

The basic process for setting up a Sunshine Conversations integration between your third-party tool and Zendesk involves tasks completed in the third-party tool’s UI and across Admin Center,

These tasks include:

  • Creating and configuring your third-party tool. This is completed in the tool’s own UI. Each tool has its own unique setup flow. Part of the process is, in most cases, sharing some details about your Zendesk account, so have that information handy. See Managing third-party bots in Admin Center for more information.
  • Creating a Conversations API key. An API key identifies and authenticates an application or user, so you can create the integration between the app and Sunshine Conversations. See Using the Conversations API for more information.
  • Creating and managing a conversation integration. The integration is how you link your business with Sunshine Conversations, and the channels you want to connect to. This task includes creating a webhook and selecting the conversation events that trigger it. See Integrating conversations in Admin Center for more information.
  • Adding the channel to the Agent Workspace. Finally, if you’re adding a chatbot or social channel, you can add it to Agent Workspace, so your agents can respond to customer support requests across all channels without switching platforms. See Adding Sunshine Conversations channels to the Zendesk Agent Workspace for more information.
  • Configuring conversation control (Sunshine Conversations custom bot users Switchboard users only). Decide how the switchboard determines control when conversations are resolved. See Conversational control model in our Sunshine Conversations documentation for more information.There is no action required if you are using the out-of-the-box messaging experience.

Understanding channel integrations

Channel integration means, simply put, that you are creating a link between your Zendesk instance and an external system or channel.

Note: Before integrating an external tool, we recommend installing and completing any tasks required by the third-party tool. Visit the tool’s website or help center for information on those tasks.

The types of external channels you can integrate include:

  • Over-the-top (OTT) messaging apps, such as Apple Messages for Business or Viber
  • SMS, through integrations with third parties like Twilio

The list below includes channels you can connect to with Sunshine Conversations. Follow the links to learn more about each channel.

  • Sunshine Conversations Web Messenger
  • Apple Messages for Business
  • SMS (requires a MessageBird or Twilio SMS account)
  • Telegram
  • Google Business Messages
  • Kakao
  • Viber

Configuring conversational control (Sunshine Conversations custom bot users only)

If you are using Switchboard APIs to create a custom bot, you’ll need to define how resolved conversations are handled by the switchboard.

To set conversation control

  1. In Admin Center, click Channels in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social > Messaging.
  2. On the Messaging channels page, click Manage settings.
  3. Expand the Conversation control section and select your control option.
    • Release control: Clears any existing switchboard integrations for the conversation and hands over control to its default state. This is recommended when using proactive messaging.
    • Pass control: Automatically calls the next configuration and hands over the conversation flow to the specified integration.
  4. Click Save settings.

For more information on conversation control settings, see Conversational control model in our Sunshine Conversations documentation.

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